The United States of America (USA) has agreed to deliver the powerful M142 highly mobile artillery rocket system (HIMARS) to Ukraine, reports Radio Free Europe.
It is not known how much of this weaponry will be handed over to Ukraine, but it will certainly be a significant improvement over the missile systems that Kiev is currently using in combat after the Russian invasion of this country.
The system requires a three-man crew including a driver, gunner and commander who sit side-by-side in the vehicle's cabin while the missiles are launched and before moving away from the launch site after the barrage is fired.
HIMARS vehicles are armored against shrapnel and small arms, but are still light enough to be transported by plane.
The US weapon can fire six rockets from the "MFOM" family of missiles with enough accuracy to hit a car up to 70 kilometers away, far beyond the range of a howitzer and far more accurate than Soviet and Russian rocket launchers. It is not clear whether the expensive guided missiles will be part of the package sent to Ukraine or whether the cheaper unguided missiles will be sent as ammunition.
HIMARS can also fire a single 1,7-ton missile called the Military Tactical Missile, or ATACMS, which has a range of up to 310 kilometers, but Washington has confirmed that those long-range missiles will not be given to Kiev.
Kiev has repeatedly called on Washington to send them HIMARS and the heavier M270 truck-mounted missile system. US President Joseph Biden, in a statement on May 30, seemed to rule out that possibility, telling reporters: "We will not send missile systems to Ukraine that can hit Russia."
That statement was later retracted by a White House official, and on May 31, Biden confirmed that the US would in fact send "more advanced missile systems and ammunition that will enable (the Ukrainians) to more accurately engage targets on the battlefield in Ukraine."
Refraining from sending long-range ATACMS missiles that can be fired from HIMARS will make it impossible for US-made weapons to be used in attacks on southwestern Russian cities such as Voronezh and Rostov-on-Don.
Although smaller MFOM missiles can potentially reach tens of kilometers into Russian territory, major civilian centers will be out of range.
Ukraine "promised" to Washington that American missiles would not be fired from HIMRAS to hit targets inside Russian territory.
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